The National Pinball Museum

Washington, D.C.

Through Sept. 5

Get to this unusual museum while you still can, said Edward Rothstein in The New York Times. Opened just eight months ago, this quirky Georgetown gem wasn’t supposed to be temporary, but its creator has been forced by a lease dispute to prepare for a September closing. That’s a shame, as his labor of love offers an engaging tour through pinball’s checkered history—including the game’s 1940s and ’50s heyday and the industry’s ties with the Mob. Founder David Silverman, a lifelong collector, has packed the space with 200 restored vintage machines, 3-D dioramas, and all manner of “jittery bumpers” and blinking lights. It serves up a heaping helping of nostalgia. “Players of a certain age will look around and recall the atmospheric minutia of that lost world: cigarette burns on the games’ wooden rails, rings left on the glass by beer bottles, and lines of nickels or quarters” arranged on the games’ edges by waiting players.

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Of course, placards and dioramas only go so far, said Amy Orndorff in The Washington Post. Truly understanding the game requires hands-on experience. In the museum’s tricked-out “pay-for-play” area, visitors can take in the history of pinball “one round at a time” with more than 40 working machines. Highlights include the rare Big Bang Bar (one of only 14 manufactured) and the elaborately detailed machines made by legendary designer Pat Lawlor, best known for his Addams Family–themed game, the field’s all-time best seller. My own favorite, though, was Humpty Dumpty, the very first pinball machine to feature flippers. That 1947 machine “might lack the bells and whistles of modern computerized machines.” But with its iconic silver ball, its spring-loaded plunger, and its tilted board, the family resemblance is undeniable.